Karel Eliáš, lawyer, university lecturer, and principal author of the current Czech Civil Code, received the highest honour that Palacký University in Olomouc can bestow. He became its honorary doctor. He received the title of doctor honoris causa for his extraordinary scholarly achievements and creative contributions in the field of legal science and legal culture.
The honorary doctorate was awarded to Karel Eliáš on the recommendation of the Faculty of Law's Scholarly Board and by decision of the University's Scholarly Board. He received it at a ceremony in the Archepiscopal Palace during a gathering of the academic community.
The laureate was introduced by Václav Stehlík, Dean of the UP Faculty of Law. "Professor Karel Eliáš is widely regarded by the scientific and broader legal community as one of the most important figures in Czech legal science and legal culture in general. He has made a significant contribution as the main academic and legislative author of the current Czech Civil Code in connection with the extensive recodification of Czech civil law," said Václav Stehlík, adding that the Czech Civil Code is fully comparable with the best foreign codifications of all fundamental personal and property relations. "Professor Eliáš devoted a significant part of his long-term, extensive, and erudite publishing, other scientific, and pedagogical activities to the restoration of legality within the framework of the rule of law and generally recognised legal principles in accordance with moral principles," emphasised the dean.
foto_sem_4
Rector Michael Kohajda recalled the award winner's contribution to legal education. "It is well known that Professor Eliáš has always considered teaching to be an integral part of his work in higher education. And when I talk about teaching, I don't mean memorising legal regulations, but rather cultivating legal thinking, legal language, and a systematic, historically grounded approach to law. Moreover, his teaching style is primarily focused on dialogue with students," said Michael Kohajda.
Representatives of the university then presented Karel Eliáš with an honorary doctorate in the form of a diploma and a commemorative UP medal with a double portrait of Josef Dobrovský and František Palacký.
"I appreciate that Palacký University has decided to recognise the results of my work and my career. I thank you sincerely and with respect for this. I appreciate this extraordinary honour all the more because it is being awarded to me by the oldest university in Moravia," said Karel Eliáš. He recalled that he first visited the Olomouc Faculty of Law thirty years ago, when he attended a conference focused on the preparation of the Civil Code. "At that time, I never dreamed that the Civil Code would become my destiny and consume so many years of my life and energy."
foto_sem_4
He devoted part of his speech to the values and attitudes that underpin the academic world and public life. He spoke about freedom, democracy, and the natural right of people to pursue their own happiness. "Neither Nazism nor communism was able to eradicate this human desire. I believe that no one else will either," he said, among other things. He also pointed to the ever-increasing legal regulation, which he described as a manifestation of legal hypochondria.
Before the meeting at the Archbishop's Palace, Karel Eliáš accepted an invitation to the Faculty of Law, where, among other things, he signed the chronicle. The faculty has been keeping it since its restoration in 1991.
Since 1990, Palacký University has awarded honorary doctorates to fifty extraordinary personalities for their contribution to knowledge, the development of society, and the dissemination of humanistic values. At the suggestion of the Faculty of Law, these were Simon Wiesenthal, Willibald Posch, Vladislav David, and Otakar Motejl. An overview of all UP honorary doctors is available on the university's website.
Karel Eliáš
In 1979, he graduated from the Faculty of Law at Charles University in Prague. In 1996, he completed his doctoral studies in commercial law at the Faculty of Law in Brno. He habilitated at the same faculty. In 2002, he was appointed professor of commercial law.
After graduating, Professor Karel Eliáš worked as a corporate lawyer. In 1991, he became a researcher at the Institute of State and Law of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. He then taught at the Faculty of Law of the University of West Bohemia in Plzeň, where he headed the Department of Commercial Law, later Private Law, and subsequently served as Vice-Dean for Science and Research. Since 2016, he has been teaching at the Faculty of Law of Trnava University in Trnava.
He is a long-standing member of the Scholarly Board of the Faculty of Law at Palacký University. He serves on the disciplinary council of its doctoral programme in Theoretical Legal Sciences.
In 2012, he was inducted into the Legal Hall of Fame by the legal community for his exceptional lifetime contribution to law.
